Tuesday, July 14, 2009

I asked Dan a while back how old he thought Cate should be for the big event. He said twelve. I thought twelve months sounded fair enough. So here we are with an adorable twelve-month-old baby girl with plump little earlobes just ready for the poking.

The only problem is that the ear piercing didn't happen at the mall.It happened at the hospital.

She didn't get tiny pink faux diamond studs through her earlobes.She got bright blue tubes through her eardrums.(I was really hoping for pink. No such luck.)

on the way to the hospital

The lady from the hospital called yesterday to schedule Cate's surgery time. She also gave a few pre-surgery instructions.

No food or drink after midnight.

This is very frightening to a mother of a baby who can be incredibly inconsistent in her sleep choices. Sleep through the night. Don't sleep through the night. Wake up crying at 1:30 one morning. Wake up crying at 4:30 the next morning. Wake up crying at 6:00 another morning. So many choices.

Luckily, Cate slept until 7:30 this morning. No waking up in the middle of the night. No crying. She was happy and played until it was time to leave (about 15 minutes after wake up time).

Dress her in something comfortable.

I was a little amused by this instruction. I don't think Cate owns an article of clothing that is uncomfortable. What baby does? Were they thinking I'd bring her to surgery dressed in a mini suit of armor? Maybe her skinny jeans that just came out of the dryer? An itchy wool sweater? Her tightest baby girdle?

I opted to just leave her in her jammies.

Bring her clean.

Good idea. Who would want to operate on a dirty baby? The lady didn't mention anything about not wearing make-up or hair bows. I decided all on my own to skip those today. I realized later that it might have been better for Cate's self-esteem if she could have been gussied up a little. The recovery room nurse kept referring to her as a boy. I guess she didn't notice the pink blanket I had brought. Or the fact that her name is Catherine.

See, this is where the tiny pink faux diamond studs through her chubby little earlobes would have come in handy. No mistaking her for a boy with those.

in the waiting room

We arrived at the hospital earlier than our 8:10 check-in time. Dan took Cate into the waiting area while I signed the paperwork and received my blue wristband. Blue...for the mother of a baby girl. Cate's was blue too. I'm thinking a little color coding would have helped the recovery nurse in her gender confusion.

Cate was busily crawling around the room while we waited. Still no sadness and no signs of hunger. After a few minutes we were called back to the surgery prep room.

in the hospital gown

We changed her out of her very comfortable jammies and into an even more comfortable hospital gown. The anesthesiologist came in and talked to us. Cate waved at him. We signed more paperwork.

10-month-old Danny on his tube day(just for comparison)

The doctor came back and asked if we had any questions. I did have one but I refrained. I wanted to ask her if she could use the pink tubes. Some other people came back and asked more questions and asked if we had questions. I think they were nurses. We signed more paperwork.

The lady let us know that when it was time to go, we weren't going to have a big good-bye/kissy-kissy/crying scene (not her words, mine). She said that's not good for any of us. So when it was time for the surgery, she literally just swooped Cate up in a warm blanket and off they went. I didn't hear Cate crying down the hallway so I'm thinking she was just fine.

recovery room with Daddy

They swooped her away at 8:40. At 8:55 the doctor told us she was done. We headed to the recovery room to wait. A few minutes later, Cate was in my arms drinking her bottle. After the bottle, there was crying, fussing and dislike towards the oxygen monitor on her big toe. Thirty minutes, more instructions and a bottle of ear drops later, we were given the ok to leave.

a little post-op swinging

We stopped at the doctor's office for a quick post-op check-up. Cate failed the hearing test in one ear so we'll go back in two weeks to see if she can pass. I told her that if she can pass next time, I'll reward her with a trip to the mall for the kind of ear piercing she really wants.

Or at least maybe a new hair bow.Pink, of course.

And since I'm so keen on flashbacks...

July 14, 2008

Cate came home from the hospital for the first time one year ago today.

Was searching for a friend's blog with similar last name and came across yours about your nice family.

I had to smile when I read the caption about Cate having her ears pierced at the hospital, but realized it wasn't the pink faux diamonds mommy wanted to see in her little ear lobes :)

We delayed having Sandi's ears pierced till she was 13 mos due to chronic ear infections and finally placement of tubes. She did great afterwards. This is really a perfect age to have her ears pierced. Asked our ped and she gave me some suggestions for moms having their dd's ears pierced. They worked great and included some OTC meds to minimize any discomfort.

Sounds like mommy is ready to have them done, "..I told her that if she can pass next time, I'll reward her with a trip to the mall for the kind of ear piercing she really wants."

Write me an e-mail and I'll be happy to share our ped's suggestions with you.